Product purchases question

["Matt Jackson" <..hidden..>]

Hello all.

I am trying to train myself in LedgerSMB and am confused on a few points. My business is retail, I order goods from vendors to sell over the internet. I am just going to ask the questions one at a time, so I don't trip over myself.

1. I would like to enter an order for product I have made, paid for and received from a vendor.

Do I use 
- "AP > Add Transaction"? 
- "AP > Vendor Invoice"? 
- or should I use something more like "Order Entry > Purchase Order"?

What are the distinctions? I am afraid the manual has a flowchart to it (pg. 28), but I am not grasping how to "move" these things from one status to another...what is the procedure? 

I guess from the above in my case, if I were:

- entering an old, paid, received shipment of goods from a vendor, I would just start with the AP invoice (being "last in line" in the flowchart) and mark it paid.

- entering a new paid but not received invoice, enter a purchase order and move through the steps of the pg 28 flowchart.

Is this correct and/or ideal?

Any guidance here?

-- 
Regards,
Matt